Marie-Charles-César de Faÿ, comte de la Tour-Maubourg (11 February 1757, at La Motte-de-Galaure,

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French soldier and politician during the French Revolution and the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. His father was Claude Florimond de Faÿ (1712–1790); his mother was Vacheron Bermont Marie Françoise (b. 1712).

Monarchy

De Faÿ was colonel of the Regiment of Soissons in 1789.

Revolution

He was appointed to the nobility of Puy-en-Velay in the Estates General. He was a friend of

Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

. De Faÿ was one of the first nobles to join the Third Estate. He was a representative of Nord and

Pas de Calais The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows, is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, and separating Great Britain from continental ...

. De Faÿ was charged, with Antoine Barnave and Jerome Pétion, with returning the royal family to

following its

flight to Varennes The Flight to Varennes (French: fuite de Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which the French royal family—comprising Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the Dauphin Louis Charles, ...

in June 1791. His devotion on this occasion was misunderstood by Marie-Antoinette. However, in her memoirs, Madame Tourzel, witness to the facts, paid tribute to his dedication to the royal family. De Faÿ was colonel of the 3ème régiment de chasseurs à cheval from 1791 to February 1792. With the separation of the National Constituent Assembly, he accompanied the marquis de Fayette with the Army of the Center in 1792 and emigrated with him after the dismissal by

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

on 10 August 1792. Captured at

Rochefort, Belgium Rochefort (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium, close to the Ardennes. On 1 January 2006, Rochefort had a total population of 12,038. The total area is 165.27 km² which gives a population de ...

, with Lafayette, and imprisoned by Austria, he was released after the Treaty of Campo-Formio (18 October 1797) and lived in exile in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Under the Consulate and the First Empire

De Faÿ returned to France in 1798 and became a member of the

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History Under Napoleon's Consulate, the Constitution of the Year VIII (1799) set up ...

(under the Directory), after which he became a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1804, under the

. In 1808 he became military governor of

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, which he helped to become a major port. He was excluded from the House of Peers from the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

until 1819. Concerned with the management of its inheritance, he took part in financing the industrial activities of

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours ( , ; 14 December 1739 – 7 August 1817) was a French-American writer, economist, publisher and government official. During the French Revolution, he, his two sons and their families migrated to the United ...

, scion of the American business family.

After the Restoration

In 1814, de Faÿ was named at the time of the Bourbon Restoration and preserved his position during the Hundred Days. He was a government commissioner for certain departments in the west of France. After the fall of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, he was excluded from government until 1819. He was reinstated to the Senate, then made Knight of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...

. Napoleon had made him commander of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. César de Faÿ de La Tour-Maubourg married Henriette de Tenella Pinault, heiress of a member of the Parliament of Douai. They had many descendants. He died in 1831 in Paris.

Relatives

Brothers

His brother, Marie Victor de Fay, marquis de Latour-Maubourg, was a Cavalry Corps commander, survived the Russian Campaign and was wounded at the

battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

. Juste-Charles de la Tour-Maubourg married Anastasie de La Fayette, daughter of Lafayette. They had three daughters. The second, Jenny, married General Ettore Perrone di San Martino, politician of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Among their descendants is the present Queen Paola of Belgium.

Children

Marie-Charles, comte de La Tour-Maubourg (11 February 1757 - 28 May 1831) married Charlotte, daughter of Charles Pinault de Thénelles, (d. 18 June 1837). They had six children: *Just Pons Florimond marquis de La Tour-Maubourg; married Caroline de La Perron de Saint Martino (1788 - 20 June 1855? 1858?) on 11 October 1815; *Adèle (b. 22 September 1783); married 19 September 1801 to François de Baigneux de Courcival; *Rodolphe (8 October 1787 - 27 May 1871), vicomte de La Tour-Maubourg, 1845 pair de France; *Marie-Stéphanie (30 September 1790 - 21 February 1868); married in 1810 Antoine comte Andréossy (6 March 1761 - 10 September 1828); *Eléonore (d. 9 April 1831); *Armand-Charles (22 July 1801 - 18 April 1845), vicomte de La Tour-Maubourg, 1841 pair de France; married Octavie Daru (d. 18 April 1834). Just Pons Florimond de Faÿ de la Tour Maubourg (1781–1837) was Auditor with the

Conseil d'État In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establ ...

under the Empire and ambassador from France to Dresden, Constantinople and Rome. From March 1809 until 1811 he was

Chargé d'Affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

to Constantinople but was recalled upon the peace between England and Turkey. He was made officer of the

in 1830. In 1831, at the consistory that elected

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

, the marquis had the honour of informing the assembled cardinals that

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

would waive his right of veto with assurance that only a wise and virtuous

pontiff In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any h ...

could be elected by such a wise and virtuous assembly. Rodolphe (1787–1871) was an officer in the campaigns of the Empire, major general, officer of the

. Armand - Septime (1801–1845), bachelor of law, was Master of the Requests to the Council of State. Under the Monarchy of July, he was Ambassador in Naples and Spain, then Rome, where he succeeded his older brother. He was commander of the

. A portrait of his wife painted by

Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau (; ; September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Dominican-born French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to A ...

was recently acquired by the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

in New York.

Grandchildren

Notable members of the following generation include César Florimond de la Tour Maubourg (1820–188

son of Just Florimond and Caroline de La Perron de Saint Martino (sister of Ettore Perrone di San Martino, Hector Perrone de San Martino). A cavalry officer in 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs-à-Cheval. He was administrator of the Grand Central Railroad, :fr:Compagnie du chemin de fer du Grand Central appointed to Haute-Loire and, throughout the Second Empire, honorary chamberlain of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and captain of the Imperial Hunt. Winterhalter Franz Xavier The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting

In 1849 he married Anne Mortier of Trévise (1824–1900), granddaughter of marshal Mortier duke of Trévise and Lady of the Table of Empress Eugenie, who appears in the extreme righthand side of Winterhalter's

Franz Xaver Winterhalter Franz Xaver Winterhalter (20 April 1805 – 8 July 1873) was a German painter and lithography, lithographer, known for his flattering portraits of royalty and upper-class society in the mid-19th century. His name has become associated with fashio ...

famous painting. Some of her notebooks were published by General Thimble-Brissac in ''Review of the Napoleonean Memory.'' Their son was killed during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, while their daughter died shortly after her marriage, without issue. They were left the Château de Frouard. After the death of her husband, the marchioness withdrew to her various residences at Maubourg, Paris, Cannes and Glareins (Ain). The last descendants of the Faÿ family de la Tour-Maubourg are buried in a mausoleum in the commune of Saint-Maurice-de-Lignon, built from the plans of Lyons architect Carra.archive Glareins

References

Sources

* Maubourg French article * F J of Basterot: ''Memories of young childhood'' Paris, 1896 * CH Bertholet: ''Contribution to History of the Faÿ de la Tour Maubourg''; Per Lou Chamis, special issue, 1982. * Madam de Tourzel: ''Mémoires'', The mercury of France, 1986. * ''History and dictionary of French revolution (1789 - 1799)'' of

Jean Tulard Jean Tulard (; born 22 December 1933, Paris) is a French academic and historian. Considered one of the best specialists of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleonic era ( Directory, Consulate and First French Empire), he is nicknamed by his peers ...

, Jean-François Beech, Alfred Fierro * R of Nomazy: ''Maubourg'', Edition of the Collieries of the Loire, 1956 * L. Castling: ''Catalogue Historique of Généraux'', Paris, Desaide, 1896 * ''Biographical dictionary of the General Officers High-Loire'' * ''It was once Maubourg'', Association of the Friends of the Field of Maubourg, 2006 * Legion d' Honor: Legionaries of Haute-Loire. * ''New Générale'' Biography; Volume 29, Didot, 1859.
Chapelle Rablais Genealogy

NPG D15589, Marie Charles César de Faÿ, comte de Latour Maubourg
National Portrait Gallery

* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/joconde_fr?ACTION=CHERCHER&FIELD_98=REPR&VALUE_98=%20Latour-Maubourg%20marquise%20de&DOM=All&REL_SPECIFIC=1 ''Portrait de l'Impératrice Eugénie entourée de ses dames d'honneur'', Lieu de conservation, Compiègne; musée national du château de Compiègne ] {{DEFAULTSORT:Latour-Maubourg, Charles Cesar De Fay, Comte De 1757 births 1831 deaths Commanders of the Legion of Honour Counts of France French generals Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Peers of France People of the French Revolution French prisoners of war in the 18th century